letter to worsip songwriters mclaren
So I agree with most of what Mclaren said about making worship about me. At the same time though I don’t think that every time I sing a song about how Jesus forgives me or rescued me that I am being selfish in my worship. “It really feels like worship and Christianity in general has become about me, me, me” (2). Usually when I sing songs like that it reminds me of how great God is and how small and undeserving of his grace I am. Worship songs that talk about how Jesus embraced me or cleansed me actually humble me. When I sing those songs I’m singing them in away that thank God for forgiving, rescuing and embracing me. I never intend for it to be about me. So my question is….. Is it selfish to sing songs that involve what Jesus did for me? Isn’t he still getting the glory? Isn’t his name still being lifted up?
I think that singing songs about what Jesus did for you is definitely giving Him the glory! Jesus does amazing things in our lives so that we can share it to others as a testimony! And I don’t know about you but the more and more that I am reminded of all the things that I have done wrong in life it can help me to remember that God is bigger than all that and is very merciful!
Yeah, I think Donald Carson, whom we soon shall read, would disagree and state that in fact, our songs should be centered on what Jesus did for us.
I wonder if the opposite response – to the selfish slant here – is caused by the fact that our language often turns very Hebrew-like, and we begin to isolate ourselves, almost to the point that it sounds like we’re saying “he did it for me, but not for you.” I’ve heard a lot of people take issue with this quality of our music, and it seems as if they are feeling ostracized by our worship language.
That’s precisely what I kept thinking when I read his complaint about songs that include words like “me” and “I.” We sing songs like this all the time, and though I think it would be better to use words like “us” and “we,” I don’t think there is anything wrong with singing about what God has done for us, because the book of Psalms includes many examples of this.
About the idea itself, I don’t think it is selfish at all to sing songs about how God cleanses us, embraces us, loves us, etc. However, there is definitely potential for them to be selfish. I think what McLaren is trying to get at is simply this: We need to sing more songs that talk about Jesus directly. And the key word is “about”. He doesn’t want us to sing songs about what Jesus did for us but rather songs about who Jesus is. And, basically, I agree with him. I do get pretty tired of singing about myself and how Jesus makes me feel. Even in my lyrics lately for the songs I write I automatically stray from using the words “I” or “me” simply because I am so tired of myself! Anyway, thats all I got to say about that (Forrest Gump).